Chelsea close to agreeing 'strategic partnership' with River Plate over exchange of young talents | OneFootball

Chelsea are close to reaching an agreement with Argentine club River Plate that would see an exchange of young players between the two clubs in the future, according to reports.

Back in January, Chelsea raised some eyebrows with their decision to recall young midfielder Kendry Paez from his loan at Strasbourg and send him to River Plate on a short-term loan.

At the time, the move was seen as a step backwards in Paez's progression, who initially joined Chelsea from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle.

The 18-year-old, however, struggled to establish himself as a regular starter at Strasbourg, having made just four starts in Ligue 1 as a loanee (15 appearances overall).

Chelsea understandably decided that the limited minutes in a top European competition are not as helpful to his development as potentially playing more regularly in South America.

The decision may also have led to something even bigger.

IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

According to Argentine outlet TyC Sports, Chelsea are close to a deal with River Plate over a strategic partnership between the two clubs.

The partnership will reportedly see both clubs exchange young talents.

Fellow BlueCo-owned club Strasbourg are also said to be involved in the deal as a potential destination for young River Plate players.

Interestingly, the report mentions that Chelsea would also have the right of first refusal to River Plate talents.

This means Chelsea would have the right to match offers from third parties for River Plate players.

If true, Chelsea could welcome more South American talents, following the likes of Estevao Willian and Andrey Santos.

IMAGO / NurPhoto

FIFA loan regulations a bottleneck

In terms of potential future loans, the FIFA regulations could prove to be a limiting factor.

The regulations state that a club could only send three players on overseas loan to a single club and sign a maximum of three players on international loan from a single club.

Clubs are also limited to six international loans.

Players aged 21 and younger are exempt from these limitations, but they must hold the status of club-trained.

Players must be registered with their parent club for at least three entire seasons (or 36 months) between the ages of 15 and 21 to be considered club-trained.

Josh Acheampong, for example, is a club-trained player, while Paez and Estevao are not.